


'Almost' doesn't count

by runastorm



Series: MariChat May [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Implied future pining as Adrien/Marinette, Marichat May, Mutual crush tho, Unrequited Love, Why do I do this to myself, if that makes any sense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 01:55:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6780658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runastorm/pseuds/runastorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had been recent, yes - but he missed the sweet sparkle in Marinette's eyes way too much.<br/>He wants it back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	'Almost' doesn't count

**Author's Note:**

  * For [neonstrom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/neonstrom/gifts).



> Again, this is a present for @neonstrom. This time I'm a few minutes late tho lmao.
> 
> For the 7th day of MariChat May; the prompt is "Adrien posters."
> 
> Work un-beta'd and English isn't my first language, so please warn me about any major mistakes.

She had been acting weird for a while now.

The stutter died down by the same time their ‘group dates’ started to become frequent, but Marinette seemed to have build a solid wall around herself – when he spoke to Alya about it, the girl made quick business of it, saying that was just part of Marinette’s personality. Something along the lines of “You didn’t know her before, that’s why you never noticed.”

 _Bullshit_.

It had been recent. Her eyes didn’t light up anymore; she’d miss perfect chances to gush about fashion; the number of times she’d slid cookies inside her purse increased tenfold; her interest in conversations regarding Paris’ superheroes was stronger than ever. For more reasons than one, Adrien was worried.

The boy had been holding back on Alya’s behalf. She had asked him not to be nosy; “Everything is _fine_ ,” she’d said.

Everything was _not_ fine.

He and Marinette were friends, right? He had the right to worry about her, _right_? And maybe the times he repeated it to himself made his common sense be knocked off his head because when it hit him, Adrien was already on top of the bakery’s balcony, at 9pm, full in Chat Noir costume.

The reason he hadn’t entered through the front door was beyond him, truly – but he knew he had to see her as soon as possible, talk about whatever had been bothering the poor girl and maybe even give her a hug. As superhero or otherwise, he just—

He just needed to be there for his friends.

The boy crouched down beside the hatch and knocked once, twice, three times, the interval between his attempts getting smaller each time as worry got the best of him. Chat groaned loudly in frustration before prying the small wooden door open, jumping into Marinette’s dimly lit room.

Well, at least he found her easily.

Unfortunately, she was asleep.

The superhero jumps down the upper floor, careful steps guiding him next to the work table, where Marinette snores lightly, her head resting against folded arms. An easy smile plays on his lips, and suddenly seeing her makes all his worries vanish.

But then Chat makes the mistake to look around the room, his barely-smug expression quickly washes off of his face when he’s met with dozens of posters of himself. And so he stares back, awestruck. Some of them are already down, scattered along the floor; others are occupying all the space of her trashcan, smashed in various paper balls of all kinds of sizes; only a few are sill up on her all - but he can see the shadow of the missing ones in the pink wallpaper, anyway.

It causes him great confusion, especially because some of the slots are crookedly occupied by Chat Noir’s merchandise, and the scribbles of hearts on the posters with his civilian's face are the same there are on Chat’s.

When he approaches her work desk, there are some drawings under her folder arms. She isn't nearly as good as Nathanaël, but lots of them feature Ladybug and Chat Noir.

A single one feature the black clad superhero and... _Marinette_.

And they’re _kissing_.

… He doesn’t know what to make of it.

Truly, their relationship should be of passing acquaintances. Marinette had helped Chat Noir once, and the superhero had saved her life in another occasion; maybe they’d met a once or twice after that, but he might be making the wrong count. Either way, no action could possibly justify her infatuation, since they had interacted so little.

Unless it was something like a celebrity crush, despite the fact he didn’t take Marinette as the type of girl to fantasize about someone whom she barely had personally seen.

Marinette stirs in her chair and Chat’s blood runs cold. His eyes snap to her face again, searching for any hints she’s about to wake up and caught him red-handed, but something else snatches his attention away: there’s deep and dark circles under her eyes, and he can see a hint of dried tears against her flushed cheeks. The fact she had been most likely crying while drawing them together makes it very easy to connect the dots, and he feels his stomach churns.

He never thought about her that way… Or _had he?_

Honestly, Marinette had such a likable personality it was kind of difficult to know for sure. Adrien was popular because of his father’s position in fashion industry and (possibly) because of his talent in playing the piano; Marinette was popular because she was sweet, smart, fun, caring. There wasn’t a single soul in their class who hadn’t had a crush on her, no matter how small – as it is, the boy would be lying if he said he never thought about kissing her at least once. Or twice.

_Either way._

His heart already had an owner, and he couldn’t simply ditch his feelings for Ladybug like that. Marinette is his friend. She had been hurt, she’d shut down and hid away the pain from her friends at school. If Chat Noir was the cause, maybe he should step away – make sure to turn on his heel and walk the other direction every time he crossed her path while wearing that mask.

At the same time, he couldn’t simply leave her alone.

The superhero approaches her further, steps worthy of a scheming predator and his fingers play with the small pile of posters Marinette has of the prestigious Agreste model. Chat frowns, pursing his lips.

If the cat had to walk away, maybe the sunny boy could walk in.

_‘You know, just to make sure she’s okay.’_

He caresses her cheek with the back of his hand, heart warming up as she lets a smile slide off her sleeping haze.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this piece! Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome. <3


End file.
